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10 Things to Look for When Purchasing Watercraft

With summer just around the corner, we are officially approaching lake season. Whether you’re able to devote a week of vacation time at your favorite body of water, or just like to visit on the weekends, it’s the perfect opportunity to relax and unwind from the daily grind.

Have you been toying with the idea of purchasing your own watercraft? While it’s a great investment that will make your time at the lake more enjoyable, there are things to consider and to look for when buying a watercraft.

Here are our top 10 tips you need to consider.

This is, undoubtedly, the most important step when purchasing a watercraft. While many people assume that a watercraft is just a boat, there’s no such as “just a boat.”

If you a larger family with smaller children or if you’re single and enjoy time on the water alone, your watercraft choice is likely to be quite different.

Choose a watercraft that will be used and enjoyed often. It’s disappointing to make a big purchase and only use it a few times a season.

Don’t be impulsive, take your time in deciding.

2. Are There Any Restrictions at Your Favorite Body of Water?

Before you buy a boat or a personal watercraft (PWC), make sure there are no restrictions against watercrafts at your favorite lake or another body of water. For instance, kayaks and canoes are becoming increasingly popular watercraft purchases; more than 17 million Americans, age six and older, enjoy kayaking and canoeing.

If you buy a kayak and then find out it’s not safe to use among the other watercrafts on your favorite lake, you’re less likely to enjoy your purchase.

The same goes for a motorboat; some lakes have horsepower restrictions.

3. Shop Within Your Budget

You don’t have to have to be wealthy to own a boat, but you do need to be able to make payments if you take out a loan.

Boats are like cars; while the luxury vehicle looks fun to drive and attractive on the roads, the economy car may be more practical.

4. Additional Costs: Don’t Sink Your Budget

One thing that prospective watercraft owners forget to consider is additional expenses.

Don’t let that stat scare you away, just be sure to do all your financial research before buying.

5. Storage Options

Have your eye on a 22-ft. fishing boat but don’t know where you would store it when you’re not on the water? Look at your storage options before buying as proper storage is essential to the life and performance of your watercraft.

You don't want to have this problem:

6. Consider Used

When shopping for a boat, don’t forget to consider used watercraft.

While a used fishing boat may not be as shiny as a brand-new model, the price is usually appealing. Don’t forget to do a thorough inspection before purchasing. Check for cracks, test the electronics, look for mildew, and everything in between.

The problem here is that many people buy boats online, through platforms like Craigslist or eBay. This typically means that the boat is docked or stored far away from you.

Or, they simply are unsure of what to look for when buying a used boat.

Increasingly, people are electing to utilize services like the professional agents at WeGoLook to travel to the location of the watercraft to conduct and in-depth inspection of its condition and functionality.

This type of small investment goes a long way when making a significant life decision like buying a watercraft. Check out our services and give yourself piece-of-mind when purchasing a watercraft.

7. Do You Know How to do Maintenance or Repairs?

If you’re looking at a boat that needs a few minor repairs, do you know how to fix them yourself or will need to hire help?

Consider such costs in the price of the boat; the boat may still be a good price.

8. Take it on a Test Run

When possible, see if you can take the boat on a test run. You wouldn’t buy a car without seeing how it handles, would you? Same goes for a watercraft.

Again, if you're unavailable or too far away from the location of the watercraft, elect to have a professional conduct the verification in your place. Even if you do a test yourself, it never hurts to get a second opinion.

If you own a smaller vehicle, you’ll either have to consider purchasing a bigger one or hire someone to transport your boat for you.

10. Does the Watercraft Make You Happy?

Whether you buy a PWC or fishing boat, it’s important that your watercraft makes you happy. Does it cause more stress taking it out on the water than offer relaxation? Don’t purchase anything that seems like more work than fun.

Now, it's time to jump into your new watercraft and start enjoying the summer weather.

In 2016, global insurtech investments totaled $1.7 billion, with both the volume and value of deals roughly doubling since 2014. This doesn’t include companies that are self-funded, have traditional financing, or work with angel investors to bring innovation to the $4.5 trillion global insurance industry. And, every segment of the insurance value chain has been impacted by those investments, including claims.

We are excited to announce our partnership with the CCC ONE platform to help insurance policyholders file self-service claims remotely. CCC ONE is a cloud platform developed by CCC Information Services, Inc. (CCC), a leading software as a service provider to the automotive, insurance, and collision repair industries. Founded in 1980, CCC leverages the CCC ONE platform to link a vast network of more than 350 insurance carriers, more than 24,000 repair facilities, hundreds of part suppliers, dozens of third-party data and service providers, and car manufacturers.

Through this partnership, CCC’s customers can electronically connect to our on-demand field force of more than 40,000 well-trained Lookers who are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our Lookers are always standing by to help insurers provide a high-level of service at a critical point in the claims process. When assigned, one of our Lookers will gather imagery and information in the field, in any U.S. location—even rural areas—in as little as one day.

How it works

When a claim qualifies for CCC’s mobile channel, policyholders are instructed by their insurer how to capture and upload photos of the damage via their smart device. However, when the policyholder requests assistance, or they do not complete the process within the insurer-defined period, insurers can send us an electronic notification through CCC ONE.

As soon as we receive the request for assistance, we dispatch a nearby Looker to take and upload photos to CCC ONE. Once the photos are uploaded, they are immediately available for insurance appraisers to initiate the claims or repair process.

Additionally, any of CCC’s customers can directly assign claims to WeGoLook through CCC ONE. Once assigned, we immediately dispatch Lookers to capture and upload photos and other requested information from the site of the claim.

It’s a win, win, win

We’re very excited about this partnership the many ways it allows WeGoLook to offer value to policyholders and insurers alike. With CCC and WeGoLook, policyholders gain an even more seamless experience when filing self-service claims. Insurers get access to our on-demand workforce through the CCC platform to help them provide even better service to their insurance industry clients.

And for us, this partnership furthers our mission, and the mission of our parent company, Crawford & Company, to help restore and enhance lives, businesses, and communities.